SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION ON MICROFLORA OF THE GUT

NRSA将通过支持神经免疫过程在压力情境下的适应性反应中的作用的研究来促进我在行为神经科学方面的训练。具体而言，这些研究将探讨交感神经系统（SNS）活动的个体差异如何影响胃肠道（gi）系统功能的变化及其在压力下对感染的易感性。SNS活性的增加可能会破坏肠道的保护性微生物群，从而导致胃肠道稳态的破坏和随后的肠道感染，为致病菌的定植创造一个宽松的环境。这些问题将在具有不同行为和情绪气质的婴儿恒河猴中进行评估，这些特质先前被证明与不同的神经化学特征有关。该提案将测试肠道菌群是否与气质属性有关，例如情绪反应性/行为抑制性，在基线和唤醒时对这些猴子进行评估，并在6个月大时将其从母亲身边带走。最后，我将调查胃肠道菌群的改变是否转化为对肠道病原体（如志贺氏菌）的易感性增加，从而导致对心理压力的不良反应。除了项目的具体目标之外，这个NRSA将允许我在心理生物学技术方面进一步深造，并通过威斯康星大学心理学系获得行为神经科学博士学位。

The NRSA will facilitate my training in the behavioral neurosciences by supporting research on the role of neuroimmune processes in the adaptive response to stressful situations. Specifically, the studies will investigate how individual differences in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity contribute to variation in the functioning of the gastrointestinal (gi) system and its vulnerability to infection during stress. Increased SNS activity may lead to disruption of gi homeostasis and subsequent enteric infection by disrupting the protective microflora of the gut, creating a permissive environment for colonization by pathogenic bacteria. These questions will be assessed in infant rhesus monkeys with different behavioral and emotional temperaments, previously shown to be associated with distinct neurochemical profiles. The proposal will test whether gut flora are associated with temperamental attributes, such as emotionally reactive/behaviorally inhibited, in both the baseline and aroused by assessing these monkeys while the mother and subsequent to removal from her at 6 months of age. Finally, I will investigate whether alterations in gi microflora translate into an increased susceptibility to enteric pathogens, such as Shigella, and thus lead to a maladative response to psychological stress. Beyond the specific goals of the project,, this NRSA will allow me to further my graduate training in psychobiological techniques leading to a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience through the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin.